Perception of the importance of continuing professional development among pharmacists in a middle east country: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background The role of pharmacists has recently expanded, necessitating enhanced competencies. This requires pharmacists’ participation in continuing education initiatives. This study aims to explore attitudes, motivations, opportunities, and challenges of pharmacists in a country in the middle east, towards continuous professional development. Methods A cross-sectional observational close-ended questions study was conducted in Jordan between September and October 2021, and enrolled 309 pharmacists, the tool was developed by the research team and experts in the field to evaluate the continuous professional development perception among pharmacists. The research was approved by the Ethics and Research Committee in an area hospital and a University. Results The majority of participants had confidence that continuous professional development prepares pharmacists for practical development, believed that it enhances the status of the profession with other health care professionals as well as with the public, and felt confident that it meets their needs (> 98%). Most of the participants agreed that job restrictions (91%) and lack of time (83%) were the major barriers to participation in continuous professional development. The motivation was positively correlated with attitudes (R = 0.551, P < .001). However, barriers were not significantly correlated with either attitudes or motivations. Conclusion Our findings emphasize the positive attitude of pharmacists towards continuous professional development. Identified barriers to continuous professional development participation included job constraints and lack of time. The study highlights the need for policies and procedures that address these issues before the implementation of mandatory continuous professional development programs for pharmacists.